Son of the Hunter part 1
by Draconc89
Summary: This is my second attempt at an old idea. Artemis has a child but this time she does not know of his existence. I got the idea from Xed Alpha. No I do not own any of the original PJO or HoO characters. Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

Waking up in my bed is not exactly good especially if it is too early in the morning and my foster brother, Dean, is looming over me with an evil glint in his strange ever changing eyes. I guess I should start my story from the beginning back about nine years ago. My name is Lowell Archer. I have never known who my parents were. I was left in a small wooden cradle wrapped up in silvery and golden blankets on the steps of city hall in East Breach, NY. I have been bounced all around New York in the foster care system. I would either run away from a home or be pulled away because of fighting. I am kind of surprised it took them nine years to send me to a group home. That is like a last resort before you are sent to a juvenile detention center. Resort now there is a funny word it can be a refuge or an attempt at something, but I digress from my story. Where was I?

Oh right I have never stayed in any one place for very long and I doubt this new place will be much different I will probably be sent away for fighting with Dean. I usually ended up running away because of a strange creature; giant dogs the size of trucks, weird guys with fury legs and hoofs saying they want to help me, and many more. I barely escaped from them the last time only to be found by a good samaritan again. He found me every time I got away and sometime only in the nick of time. I justified every fight I have been in as teaching my opponent a much needed lesson in respect. At least that is how I saw it. All males seem to have a problem around the fairer sex especially maidens, and Dean in no exception. They are not able to keep their hands to themselves and their words are a worse offense than their hands could ever be. I go ballistic at the sight of a disrespectful male. That is how I ended up here in upstate New York.

The group home is run by the Jacksons no not Michael's family. The couple has no children of their own but choose to help the nearly lost causes in the foster system of New York. They own a ton of land and use it to raise horses in the fields, as well as owls that roam the forest around the fields. I do not mind the Jacksons. Percy and his wife Annabeth are kind to us and understand how it is to have dyslexia and ADHD, but they have some strange friends and they seem to follow the religion of the ancient Greeks. I have never been religious because I can always see hypocrites in the church, so the Jacksons' choice of worship kind of appealed to me. The others around the group home were a little perturbed by it though.

There were five other children at the Jackson House when I arrived a month ago. All of us are preteens or younger. Dean Mathews is the oldest and resident pretty boy. He is almost thirteen and always attracts the attention of every girl outside the house and some boys to his discomfort. He seems to get away with nearly everything and can talk his way out of almost any situation when he is not around the others mainly me and the twins, but he drives Sara crazy. Sara Jameson that is, another of the inmates, I mean children, at the group home. She is only a few months younger than Dean at twelve. The odd thing is that she has the same color of eyes as Annabeth Jackson, a cold calculating heartless storm of grey, so to tease her Dean calls her Sara Jackson until she outsmarts him. Sara is smart as a whip and can play chess like a demon, but can only shoot a bow a little better than Percy. Neither of them could hit the broad side of a barn unlike Annabeth, the twins and I. Annabeth is well practiced with a bow and says Sara could be as good only if she tried and put her mind to it, but until that time comes Annabeth just teaches the art of archery to the twins and me.

Oh the twins are Sharon and Julie Preston. They are nine so about as old as me, but they could not have a more different body clock. They love mornings and anytime the sun is up really. I also notice that they have very sunny personalities and love music which figures. Their mom used to be a famous singer before she got pregnant with them and had to leave the lime light at a young age child services had to step in before their mom hurt them worse than she already had. I liked to hang around the girls with their bright blue eyes. That is when I could be dragged out of bed of course. I am in no way a morning person. To me mornings mean the end of a good time to be active and unseen but to the twins it means it is time to get up and start singing or just face the day. I prefer the night by far. They also enjoy fire for some reason which helps them get along with the resident pyromaniac Paul.

Paul Andrews is the youngest of those who were at the Jacksons when I arrived in December just before my birthday on the winter solstice. Paul is seven and big for his age. I might be two years older than him but he is bigger than me. He could be a football player when he grows up but he loves fire too much and he can't keep still. I mean all of us are a little overactive but Paul can't keep his hands still for more than a minute while he is awake. He always fidgets with something hence why he ended up at the Jacksons' even with him being so young. That is everyone who was there upon my arrival.

Soon after I arrived another adult, Nico Di Angelo, came to stay with the Jacksons so that they could expand the number of kids they kept at the group home. Mr. Di Angelo has a sour personality and he sticks to the shadows a lot. He fit in well with Andrea Cleave a very pale ten year old girl who arrived in January. She cursed everyone especially her mother who killed herself by jumping out of a small plane. Andrea did not want to get along with anyone except Nico and both of them seemed to dislike Nathan Walker. Nathan was a boy blessed by the air. He was almost as light on his feet as me at night and he could hear almost anything. His only short fall had to be his ego. I mean he and Dean were so full of themselves it was embarrassing to even say I was the same gender as them. I was absolutely thrilled when Dean met the eleven year old electric blue eyed boy. They always tried to one up each other more often than not at my expense. Today is the last day of the school year and a new kid is supposed to arrive sometime while we are there. That means two and a half months with eight other troubled kids. I probably won't be back at this school next year.

Yet I have digressed enough time to pick back up with my rude awakening. Dean having just kicked me awake with an evil glint in his eye as he dropped his dirty clothes on top of me. "Make sure to fold and put them away this time sleeping ugly." Dean said before laughing at his own joke and heading to take a shower.

"Ugh… I hate mornings." I mumbled as I rolled over pulling the covers over my head. "It is too bloody bright." I continued to complain before trying to get back to sleep. I never seemed to get enough sleep in the spring and summer would be worse. Oh how I missed winter. My attempts were in vain however, as to people bounded into the room humming cheerfully.

The two girls landed on my bed on either side of me as I tried to burry myself under my covers. "Low wake up there is bacon downstairs." They sang out in unison. When I did not get up the decided to use a dirty evil trick they grabbed my covers and jumped up pulling the covers to the floor along with all Dean's dirty clothes. I scowled as my body was exposed to the cool morning air. Sharon and Julie held matching smirks as I sent them a glare which faded to a blank stare at their pouty faces.

I am too much of a push over when it comes to young innocent girls. They started to laugh at my defeated sigh as I climbed out of bed and grabbed a clean shirt sniffing it before I shrugged and pulled it over my head. I shook out my hair which fell to my shoulder blades running my fingers through it before I bound it in a rubber band at the base of my skull. The twins finally recovered from laughing helped me make my bed before following me out of the boys' room. I only spent enough time in there to sleep and occasionally I did not even do that in there. There was only so much time I could stand to spend around others of my gender and the older they were the worse that feeling got with the exception of Percy and normally Nico. Although he just creeped me out on a different level and I never liked being around him or Andrea.

I strolled downstairs with the twins bouncing along behind me to get some food before I start on my way to school. Annabeth and Percy made breakfast for us most mornings. I enjoyed their cooking it was some of the best food I have ever eaten and it meant that I did not have to eat cereal that day. Don't get me wrong cereal is good for you and all I just prefer meat. Today there was a nice spread of bacon, eggs, biscuits, sausage, and pancakes.

My mouth started watering the moment I hit the top step and could smell the food. I loaded up my plate and proceeded to scarf down the food. "Woo there Lowell you don't have to eat it all at once there is plenty of food here you don't have to fight for it." Percy said trying to get me to ease up like always, but when you have gone without food before you eat everything you can when you can. I have at least gotten a little better and stopped stealing the food and hiding it around the house. I finished eating by the time the egotists used up all the hot water and came downstairs acting like they owned the place.

"Hey shrimp, why are there clothes all over the floor? You should really clean up better." Nathan said patting my head in a patronizing manner before laughing in unison with Dean. I simply scowled at the table and was doing my best not to attack the older boys. Percy cleared his throat drawing their attention to his frowning face.

"I highly doubt that it is Lowell's fault since I saw him do his laundry yesterday along with helping the girls with theirs while you two were out after school with Zeus knows who." Mr. Jackson explained while looking at the two chauvinistic pigs in shame as if he felt sorry for them. I shoved Nathan's hand off my head and took my plate to the sink and began washing it. I knew how to have manners and even though I always looked good you well-kept and feminine you would never find me looking into a mirror for long unlike the vain chauvinist I roomed with.

I grabbed my bag and headed out the door to go meet our bus to get to school. I was doing my best to keep out of trouble outside the group home but that never seems to end well for me.


	2. Chapter 2

I waited patiently for the bus at the end of the driveway. The twins joined me shortly dragging an ever sour faced Andrea and guiding Sara while she had her nose stuck in a book. Paul came sprinting up the lane with a smirk on his face soon to be followed by Nathan and Dean both of which looked like they were planning something that I would not like while wearing their stylish clothes. I should probably explain about the school we go to it is a little different.

It is run by principle Chiron. He also runs a summer camp that we will be attending, but that is not until tomorrow so I will leave that to worry until then it is no use to me right now. The school encompasses all grade levels from preschool up through high school, but it is exclusive for troubled kids. Almost the entire student body and the teachers as well have dyslexia and ADHD. The majority are from group homes all the older kids laugh about the summer camp as if there is an inside joke that those of us who have not been there before do not know about. The Jackson House is full of new comers but Nathan and Andrea are looked at by the students who have been to the camp before like meat to be sized up before they are auctioned off. We all were but the rest of us were quickly forgotten. Andrea hates it and I try to distract the boys from her with my girlish figure it is not hard but it makes me the target of a lot of odd looks. The classes are mostly fun though. There is a wilderness survival class which I excel at that is my last class today but first I have to suffer through History and Gym. The latter is not too bad I can climb the rope like a monkey and I excelled at the archery section but I never did too well on any of the team activities. There are a ton of cliques at this school, though only one holds any interest to me.

There is an odd group I kind of admire at school though they are in a nature club all of them are girls and to identify themselves they wear silver bracelets. I only know this because I saw Dean hitting on one shortly after I arrived but before I could figure out a way to intervene five other girls wearing bracelets had her surrounded and began to push him away. The one who seemed to be in charge a sixteen year old with electric blue eyes and a silver headband in her hair saw me a shoved my shoulder. "Get out of our way _boy." _The way she said boy was as if she could come up with no greater insult. I watched the group from the shadows from then on and noticed they seemed to scorn the male population almost as much as I secretly did.

The bus arrived pulling up and opening its door. Mr. Stoll our bus driver was a friend of Percy's from when they were kids. He would stop in with his twin from time to time just to visit it was kind of funny both the Stoll twins were bus drivers for our odd school. I don't care for Demi-deity School. I have never liked school but this one is just as bad but it still has its good points. I mean it was close to the house and there were woods nearby. I got to practice archery and meet some interesting people but I still preferred to be alone most of the time. This is why the way I am treated at school suits me just fine.

You know the kid that is avoided and scorned by the popular kids that is me. The others are avoided but not as much as me. I help the girls out when it comes to getting rid of guys. I will catch the guys off guard and get them to stop flirting with any of my house mates, but I have to struggle with my temper all the time. I excel at odd subjects in school compared to everyone else. I can survive out in the wild on my own and nature seems to bend to my will. I am a faster than most out on open terrain and on a track I am not the fastest but I am close. The woods are a different story I am blessed by Artemis as the Jacksons would say. I move through the underbrush like a hunter stalking its prey. I am silent and faster than anyone else I have ever met. I love to move through the trees and slip out of sight. If I hide in the woods I cannot be found. Unfortunately for me I am not the top of the food chain out in the wild. The monsters come out and try to hunt me. I cannot always get away to hide and I love to challenge insurmountable odds. I stayed out of the lime light as much as I could only stepping out into the open to distract guys or to achieve what I could in my classes especially in wilderness survival.

I sat in the front of the bus behind the driver by the window ready to pop out at a moment's notice out of habit. I have never felt comfortable around others and I hate being in almost any motor vehicle. People should feel the wind on their faces and flowing through their hair. There were no more stops for the bus to make until we got to school after we got on. It is five minutes to get to the school from our stop but that is a long five minutes for me. I sit there trying not to freak out about being on the road inside a vehicle but it is not easy.

Once we got to the school I was out the door like a rocket only to slam into a girl. I stood untangling our limbs to see all the silver bracelet girls around me some looking scared others ready to kill me. "Sorry about that I was not watching where I was going." I apologized to the girl who took my hand that I offered to help her up once on her feet she looked me over. I mentally started a countdown '_three two one_.' Once my countdown hit the zero mark the girl's eyes widened in horror then she stepped away from me in disgust. Always without fail the girls like her with the silver bracelets have that look towards men but it seems to be intensified once they realize I am a boy.

"Move it freak." I hear as I get shoved from behind by Dean and Nathan as they head towards their lockers. I let out a sigh and headed off in the direction of my own locker as well taking special care to avoid the girls with their silver bracelets. I felt like that they would hurt me if given the chance and I knew they could I have seen them gang up on a football player who did not take no as an answer from one of them. He lived through their assault in self-defense of their own, if only just. I got to my locker and pulled out the last book and my pencil. The warning bell rang indicating it to be time to make my way to history and finish strong as they say. I got to my history class just as the tardy bell rang. It was going to be a very long day.

I dropped down into my seat in the back of the history class. I waited as patiently as I could for the guest instructor to come in and hand out the finals. When she passed my desk depositing the test she paused and observed me with a curious look on her face. I knew the look well I have seen it on Mrs. Jackson's face plenty of times before usually as she looked in my direction. I felt a little disturbed by how much the proctor looked so much like Annabeth and Sara. The whole exam centered on ancient Greek and Roman mythology and history kind of blended together. The test had fourteen sections one on each major god and their supposed children one for Hades and his kids along with the final section on the minor gods and their decedents. I hated the stupid test I struggled through the entire thing but I believed I did well on the Poseidon, Athena and Artemis sections. I barely finished in time as the proctor announced "pencil's down." Once freed from the clutches of the grey eyed guest instructor I took off towards the gym like the Teumesian Fox. Some have said I have the skills and cunning of the fox mixed with the majesty of the Serynitian hind.

Upon entering the gymnasium I nearly lost my breakfast at the site before me. Some bimbo and a jock were sucking face while my teacher silently glared at them. Seeing people suck face was not uncommon nor was the site of my instructor glaring at someone or something. The strange part was that people usually kept making out and groping to private locations as is reasonable, and I have never before seen my instructor glare silently at anything. She will normally glare and mumble curses at the offensive object. For her glaring at anything silently was almost unheard of, slight pun intended. I turned around and slipped into the boys' locker room as quietly as I possibly could to change into the stupid embarrassing outfit the school issued to me for gym class.

I was subjected to wearing an orange shirt and blue athletic shorts. It is what most the students wear there are some of the older kids who are military nuts and they wear purple shirts and black work out shorts. The nature club also wears black shorts but they get to wear silver shirts. Both the purple and orange shirts worn by the older children who have gone to summer camp have customized their shirts with various symbols and roman numerals for the purple shirts. The girls who wear the silver shirts customized their clothes as well with crescent moons except for one with a full moon but they also have other symbols on them the meanings of which elude me. When I asked my instructor about getting a silver shirt she just laughed at me like there was some kind of private joke going on without my knowledge. I was the first one in the locker room so I enjoyed the peace and quiet as I changed into the workout gear issued to me.

Once I finished changing I headed back out of the Locker room into the gymnasium where the class watched the couple suck face and my instructor still fumed. Luckily I was spared the horror of having to watch anymore of the horrific site as the nature club walked in and the one of the ones in front cleared her throat. I recognized the older one she always wore the full moon shirt in gym but I did not recognize the younger one who appeared to be about eleven or twelve and she caused the couple to take notice of their audience by clearing her throat. Our instructor returned to her senses noticing the class now.

"What are you punks doing just standing there? Get moving and change before I fail you all and let the shrimp pass." Mrs. Rodriguez shouted actually noticing me as I stretched in the corner of the gym and as an afterthought she added. "I better not catch any of you sucking face or you get to have a week of lessons with me this summer." As I finished up stretching the other students rushed off to change and the adults spotted me. They talked to my teacher a moment before they left with matching malicious grins.


End file.
